At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Joe Brett—veteran and Harvard Kennedy School alumnus—addresses Ukrainian veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War. He writes, “I gave them a pin of my old unit, 24th Corps, which happens to be a blue heart on a white shield…or in this case a symbol for peace. We all wept when I gave this out with the words that it was up to us to all work for peace, now that we have met each other as brothers at this memorial…One former Soviet colonel hugged me and, with tears in his eyes, said that all soldiers should be veterans.”

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Joe Brett—veteran and Harvard Kennedy School alumnus—addresses Ukrainian veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War. He writes, “I gave them a pin of my old unit, 24th Corps, which happens to be a blue heart on a white shield…or in this case a symbol for peace. We all wept when I gave this out with the words that it was up to us to all work for peace, now that we have met each other as brothers at this memorial…One former Soviet colonel hugged me and, with tears in his eyes, said that all soldiers should be veterans.”

November 5: The Last Butch Standingfeatures the comedienne Lea DeLaria's take on being "a bad ass dyke daddy in the post-Ellen" era. For those 18 years and older only.

December 14 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Winterbloom. Four women singer-songwriters share their cultural traditions through stories and songs (in Hebrew, Tibetan, and German) with a holiday theme. Co-sponsored with Club Passim.

Music

November 4 at 4 p.m. "Bands of the Beanpot" features the Harvard Wind Ensemble, among other groups. Fenway Center, Northeastern University.

November 9 at 8 p.m. The Chiara String Quartet performs works by Mozart, Dvo˘rák, and Witold Lutosławski. Sponsored by the Harvard Music Department. John Knowles Paine Concert Hall (behind the Science Center in Harvard's North Yard)

December 1 at 8 p.m. "Music of German Composers" played by the Harvard Wind Ensemble. Lowell Hall.

Sanders Theatre

November 1-18: TheHarvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players offer The Mikado: or, The Town of Titipu.www.hrgsp.org; 617-938-9761

December 1 at 8 p.m. The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra presents Britten's Four Sea Interludes.

Film

The Harvard Film Archivehttp://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa617-495-4700
Visit the website for a complete listing of festivals and showtimes.

November 16: The Photographic Memory of Ross McElwee. The Harvard professor filmed his return to the Brittany coast, where he lived, worked, and loved in 1972, in an effort to better understand his twenty-something son, Adrian. Both McElwees will be on hand to discuss the project.

December 7-10: Jafar Panahi. Showcases the work of the imprisoned Iranian filmmaker, including This Is Not a Film, which was smuggled out of that country in 2011.

December 14-17: Jan Svankmajer. Screenings of works by this Czech surrealist filmmaker. The artist often uses exaggerated sounds, animates odd objects through clay animation techniques, and uses food in unusual ways.

Exhibitions & Events

Through December 20: Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India. Photographs by Sooni Taraporevala '79 offers a rare look at the Parsis, whose ancestors sailed from Iran to India in A.D. 936.

November 1 through December 20: Christian Boltanski: 6 Septembres is a mélange of projected archival newscasts, headlines, and images from events that occurred on each of the artist's birthdays from 1944 through 2004. (Artist reception November 15 at 6 p.m.)

December 4 at 6-8 p.m. ArtisTalk: Katharina Sieverding. The ground-breaking Czech-born German artist explores her own work with Lynette Roth, Daimler-Benz associate curator at the Busch-Reisinger Museum.

December 5 at 3:30 p.m. A discussion on "People Everyday: The Vantage of Kerry James Marshall" (see below), with Weyerhaeuser curator of prints Susan Dackerman and Marcyliena Morgan, professor of African and African American studies and executive director of Harvard's Hiphop Archive.

November 28 at 6 p.m. "Apocalypse Soon? How the World Ends (or Doesn't) in Religions of the World," with David Carrasco, Rudenstine professor for the study of Latin America. Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street

November 19 at 6 p.m. "Birds of Paradise: Exploring a Wonder of the World," a lecture and book signing with National Geographic photojournalist Tim Laman, Ph.D. '94, the first person to photograph (during 18 expeditions across New Guinea) all 39 species of this diverse bird in the wild.

Lectures

December 3 at 5 p.m. "Hormonally Active Pollutants: What Are They, What Can They Do, and How Do We Know They Are Out There?" by Joan Ruderman, Nelson professor of cell biology at Harvard Medical School .Fay House, 10 Garden Street

November 13: "Travelers in Hiding: Telling a Story of Central Americans in Mexico," by Alma Guillermoprieto, RI '07, looks at the 2010 murders of 72 migrants traveling to the northern border by bus, and at those articles and writers who are honoring them.

Continuing: "Siting Julia: Julia Child Centenary Exhibition" traces her prodigious life and career through the library's extensive collection of Child's papers and other items.